Marion Sylvester Barber Jr. (born December 6, 1959) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a running back for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

of the National Football League (NFL) from 1982 to 1988. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Early years

Barber attended Chadsey High School in Detroit, Michigan, and is the son of Marion Sylvester Barber. He went on to play running back at the University of Minnesota where he finished as the all-time record holder for rushing yards (3,094), rushing touchdowns (34), and 100-yard rushing games (12) in a career. Those records have since been broken.

Professional career

Barber was drafted by the

in the second round (30th overall) of the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

Personal life

He is the father of the late former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl running back

Marion Barber III Marion Sylvester Barber III (June 10, 1983 – June 1, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Minnesota Golden ...

, former

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

safety

Dominique Barber Dominique J. Barber (born August 2, 1986) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota. He is the son of former NFL running back Mar ...

, and former Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Thomas Barber, who is now a defensive graduate assistant for the Gophers. All of his sons played at the University of Minnesota. Barber Jr. graduated from the university with a degree in youth studies in 2017, almost 40 years after he played for the Golden Gophers.

References

1959 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American football running backs Minnesota Golden Gophers football players New York Jets players Barber family {{runningback-1950s-stub